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Stephen Curry didn’t like the 3-pointer Warriors teammate Jordan Poole took late in the fourth quarter Wednesday night. It was a deep shot, a rushed one after Golden State had gathered an offensive rebound with a two-point lead over the Grizzlies with 1:14 left.
So on his way back down the court, Curry ripped his mouthpiece out and chucked it toward the floor. Moments later, he was ejected for throwing his mouthpiece. Again.
“Crucial time in the game, and the way that our season has gone, there’s questions about the heightened sense of urgency of every detail matters,” Curry told reporters after the Warriors defeated Memphis, 122-120, behind Poole’s last-second layup. “… So I reacted in a way that obviously put myself out of the game, put the team in a tough place. But the intentions and the energy around what matters in the sense of winning, that’s what it’s about.”
It wasn’t the first time Curry has been tossed for throwing his mouthpiece, with the other two instances occurring in the 2016 NBA Finals and in 2017 against Memphis, according to CBS Sports. But this time, Curry didn’t think his actions would lead to an ejection — it didn’t hit anybody, the guard said, unlike his ejection six years ago that was a “clear situation.”
“I threw it pretty hard,” Curry said, “but I didn’t think it got into the stands or put anybody in danger.”
According to ESPN, crew chief Sean Wright told a pool reporter that Curry received an “automatic ejection” because he “takes his mouth piece and throws into the stands with force.”
Curry compiled 34 points on 10-for-19 shooting — including four 3-pointers — prior to his ejection, and the Warriors and Grizzlies exchanged baskets until Brandon Clarke dunked to tie the game at 120 with six seconds left. Then, on the final out-of-bounds play, Donte DiVincenzo hit a cutting Poole for a layup that only left Memphis enough time for a final-second heave.
In a fitting celebration, as Poole walked down the tunnel toward Curry postgame, he took his own mouthpiece out and flung it to the side. It was the record-setting, 34-year-old guard taking a jab from Golden State’s up-and-coming 23-year-old. It was Wednesday night’s hero imitating the reaction that got the Warriors’ hero from so many other nights tossed.
It was, Curry said with a chuckle, “one of those, like, too soon jokes.”
It was a crucial win for the Warriors, who clinging to the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference with a .500 record.
“We needed that one,” Curry said, “so there’s a sense of urgency for sure, and kinda let my emotions get in the way of it.”
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